Further measures to help alleviate congestion around Southway and Derriford

The Herald has run a number of stories recently about traffic delays in and around the Southway area.

We’d like to reassure people that we do everything we can to co-ordinate planned roadworks and minimise their impact on our transport network.

We avoid programming non-emergency work alongside major improvements like the Derriford Transport Scheme unless their impact is likely to be low or there is a benefit in taking advantage of traffic management already in place (to avoid future disruption).

Essential works by utility companies often have to be carried out at short notice but we are able to comment on their timings and traffic management proposals. Wherever appropriate we will ask for works to be carried out at night or during off-peak times only.

South West Water’s works on Tamerton Foliot Road could not be delayed due to the new housing development but we insisted that temporary signals could only be used between 9.30am and 2.30pm, to minimise disruption.

We are also working with Wales and West to ensure the impact of their upcoming work on Lulworth Drive and Southway Lane is minimised, for example by asking them to manually operate temporary lights if needed.

We are continually monitoring traffic flow around the Derriford Transport Scheme works and adjusting arrangements wherever possible to alleviate congestion.

By suspending bus lane restrictions on Tavistock Road we have been able to maintain two general traffic lanes for the majority of the time – both inbound and outbound. Construction is also being carried out in several places at the same time to minimise the overall length of the programme and weekend and night working are taking place wherever possible.

We recently altered the traffic signal timings at the George Junction to give more ‘green time’ for vehicles heading straight ahead from Southway Drive onto Morgan Road and help reduce problems with queuing traffic blocking the left turn towards Woolwell and the right turn towards Derriford, as well as further back along Southway Drive and Tamerton Foliot Road.

We have also been reviewing arrangements at Budshead Roundabout, where we had to change the slip road from Budshead Road onto Tavistock Road to a ‘give way’ arrangement in order to maintain two lanes towards Derriford. We hope to introduce some changes to the lane markings here that will help improve traffic flow and reduce problems with vehicles blocking drivers who want to turn right from Budshead Road onto Budshead Way. This proposal is undergoing a safety audit review and, if approved, will be implemented as soon as possible.

We hope to complete work on the central reserve kerbs in this area of Tavistock Road in the next couple of weeks, which is when we will move the traffic management over, so that the two ‘open’ lanes move to the right. This should create some additional space for us to move the ‘give way’ markings on Budshead Road further forward onto Tavistock Road, which should also help things.

We are also looking at the possibility of putting extra signs up on Tavistock Road to encourage drivers to allow traffic from the side road to join the main carriageway.

Details of all planned roadworks are available on our roadworks page, where you can search for works by area and by date. You can also subscribe for email alerts and for our weekly ‘roadworks roundup’.

Any planned works that are likely to cause disruption are also publicised in advance through the media, here on Newsroom, via our social media channels and using our digital roadside signs and on-street warning boards.

Terms and Conditions

We encourage people to share and reuse content on this website wherever possible and this includes websites, social media and printed publications. Information shown should be up to date and accurate but please always check if you're not sure. Please read our Copyright, Disclaimer and Privacy page on the main Plymouth City Council website for the full wording.